February/March 2011

On the Cover:

With business conditions for the
forest industry gradually improving, things are getting busier out in the woods. Logging and Sawmilling Journal recently caught this Hitachi ZX 210 supplied by dealer Wajax Industries, equipped with a Waratah HTH 622B processing head, working north of Kamloops for Quesnel Bros. Logging. Watch for a story on the Quesnel Bros. operation in an upcoming issue.

The mountain pine beetle scourge was late in hitting the Smithers area in west central B.C., but the Wetzin’kwa Community Forest has been acting quickly to harvest and utilize as much of the infected wood as possible.

Sinclar Group Forest Products in British Columbia is taking a serious cut at reducing its energy use. The company and its employees—such as those at the Apollo Forest Products sawmill in Fort St. James—were recently recognized with an award from BC Hydro for their efforts.

Logger Jamie Enright has found that a TimberPro 620 carrier with the Risley Rolly II processing head is the right equipment combination to fell and process logs at the stump on the private land that he logs in southeastern Ontario.

Logger Steve Pierce has been a pioneer in mechanical harvesting on Vancouver Island, and has been a long time user of Log Max heads. Pierce is finding their newest head, the Log Max 10000XT, is the perfect fit for large west coast wood.

Though there are differences, there are also some striking similarities to the harvesting that goes on in Scotland with that of Canada, as Jim Stirling’s recent visit to the Scottish Highlands revealed.

With the uptick in the lumber market, sawmills are looking at making improvements on the sawfiling side. Logging and Sawmilling Journal has the latest sawfiling equipment information in this issue’s Tech Update.

Tech Update - Sawfiling Equipment

With the 2011 B.C. Saw Filer’s Association conference coming up on April 30, Logging and Sawmilling Journal is taking the opportunity to review sawfiling equipment and services in this issue’s Tech Update.

The one-day conference at the Tolko operation in Armstrong will include the B.C. Saw Filer’s Association AGM, guest speakers and an open forum for discussion that will involve saw filers, managers and suppliers. The forum will include a discussion of sawing problems/successes, where the trade is today and what the future could look like. Further information about the conference is available at the association’s web site at www.BCsawfilers.com

With the downturn in the economy and the forest industry in recent years, the association has re-defined the way it does business, and with that in mind, it has set its goals and objectives, says Bruce Doroshuk, president of the B.C. Saw Filer’s Association.

The focus for BCSFA is still education for the trade, however. Reflecting this, Bruce Leahman from IP Innovations will be speaking at the conference, and will provide a presentation on equipment line-ups. Larry Richardson from the Resource Training Organization will also be speaking, proving an update of the future on the sawfiling trade.

The association has a great deal to offer sawfilers, and in turn the sawmills they represent. It has been and continues to be an important tool in providing education and communication for the trade, as well as giving members an avenue to share experiences with equipment and suppliers.

The sawfiling trade, like many other trades in the next five years, will be losing a large percentage of its experienced workforce through retirement. In order to minimize the effect of this shift, the new generation of filers needs to rub shoulders with the experienced filers. The association offers much to learn at its conferences through conversations, seminars, small group discussions, and one on one discussions.

And with this Tech Update, Logging and Sawmilling hopes to share what is happening on the equipment and services side in what is such a key area in every sawmill.

Simple Saw Guides

Ready for immediate shipping from the manufacturer/inventor, money-saving, production-raising, instant change Simple Saw Guides are said to provide off-the-shelf and custom installations for every band saw.

The “Why-didn’t-I-think-of-that?” inventive saw guide/refacing system delivers tool-free, 10-second, precision-honed, click-in band saw guide replacement with do-it-yourself upgrade kits for Wood-Mizer, Norguide and other guide systems, up to the largest double-cut industrial band saws anywhere in North America.

Simple Saw Guide customers and head filers have praised the equipment for making their job easier, saving time for other jobs, while making a better cut for higher sawmill production, according to the company. The guide system appeals to both large and small sawmill operations.

Click-in Simple Saw Guides ship overnight from Vancouver, in standard and heavy-duty pad sizes to fit finely-machined holders, which are designed to slip directly into dove-tail conventional guide systems used in most band mills.

Simple Saw Guides guarantee 100 per cent satisfaction with a full return policy on low-cost holders and universal custom-mounting systems. They provide one-on-one installation consultation, support and ordering with website and ‘toll-free’ service.

Focused on making a saw filer’s life simpler, Simple Saw Guides also provide Simple Saw Alignment laser tools and other “cutting-edge” products for the Sawmill Industry.

The company is a one-stop shop for all tooling needs. Its team of engineers, designers, machinists and technicians will help customers find the tools that match their specifications.

Among its markets are:

Cutting tools

Saws

Debarkers

Planers

Industrial products distribution

Filing equipment

At DK-SPEC, their mission is to defy wear and to raise the resistance, longevity and the performance of their tools and equipment. Over the years, they have learned how to combine innovative technologies and new generation materials to progress and obtain impressive results. The company has built its reputation on their knowledge and customer service. Their research and development program is a priority, allowing the company to better serve customers and reinforce their position in the market.

Delivering complete lumber size control solutions, MicroRidge and SiCam Systems are partnering to bring the best in lumber size control to the industry. Customers now have a single source for the only complete lumber size control solution from wireless caliper measuring to real-time scanning. As always, customers can expect teamwork, reliability and long-term stability from these industry leaders, the companies say.

SiCam Systems now sells, delivers and supports the LSIZE caliper-based hardware and software product line in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom. MicroRidge continues to develop and manufacture LSIZE, and provide direct sales and support to other countries. Both companies will continue as separate entities.

MicroRidge pioneered caliper-based lumber size control systems in 1983 with LSIZE, and is the industry leader with the largest installed base of handheld measurement collection solutions for lumber size control. MicroRidge brings its wireless technology to lumber size control with LSIZE Wireless, pairing it with their industry standard LSIZE Software for PC.

SiCam Systems designs, delivers and supports the SiCam brand of size control technologies. SiCam pioneered real-time lumber size control scanning systems in the mid-1990s and continues to be a leader with its MPP multiple piece profile scanners.

SiCam and MicroRidge understand the importance of working in partnership to converge their core competencies to deliver on customer needs. Over 50 years of combined industry experience ensures that customers receive the best and latest solutions for lumber size control from sources they trust.

Simonds International has sawmill products both for today’s ultra modern high production sawmills as well as for the small entrepreneur. The company’s focus is on yield enhancement solutions, helping customers get the maximum yield out of their manpower, fibre and investments. Their product range includes bandsaw blades from 1” wide to 16” wide, circle saws from 10” diameter to 108”, wood working knives for most every application and the maintenance equipment and supplies to keep them running.

The filing room machinery developed by Simonds is targeted at finding new ways to handle old chores. This “Red” machinery line has, in its short (under 20 year) history, brought to market a number of successful industry firsts.

The company’s machines are built to withstand the rigors of a filing room day in and day out, to provide many years of service. Many of the first band levelers the company has put to work are still running every day, some with in excess of 20,000 hours.

The Resource Training Organization (RTO) was established in 2007 to oversee the management and development of apprenticeship training for the resource sector in B.C. RTO represents a cross-sectoral group of employers in the mining and smelting, oil and gas, pulp and paper, solid wood, and heavy shipbuilding and repair sectors. It is sanctioned as an Industry Training Organization (ITO), by the Industry Training Authority.

RTO’s mandate is to create and maintain an effective, efficient and responsive industry training system by:

Defining and promoting workforce development and training needs

Developing and implementing an integrated training plan that matches the demand for skilled workers

Williams and White offers a full range of filing room equipment from top and face and dual side grinders, to knife grinders, saw guides and saw tensioning equipment. The TFX-C top and face grinder is a 2 axis CNC machine designed for high accuracy sharpening of circular saw blades up to 32”. With CNC programmable control, the machine is capable of grinding any tooth pattern with any tooth combination, including a V grind profile.

Williams & White’s hydraulic dual side grinder is equipped standard with dual pass, enabling the machine to grind on either the infeed or outfeed stroke or both. The massive saw clamp ensures rigid clamping of the saw plate for maximum accuracy.

Williams & White has grown to be one of North America’s largest sawguide replacement and repair facilities. The company provides the engineering, manufacturing, and quality control to machine and polish guides to exacting tolerances.

The RZ1 is a proven system, to ensure the mill produces accurate and consistent results, day in day out.

It features:

All processing in a single set-up

Windows-operated modern and easily programmable control unit

Touch screen control for easy maneuvering between programming screens

The operator can program the order of leveling, tensioning and back measuring/adjusting to suit. These programs can then easily be recalled each and every time the saw is run.

For leveling, using an electronic sensor to measure the deformity, the two CNC-controlled rollers level the saw using proportional pressure (not on/off pressure like other machines). This is said to ensure efficient, and accurate results.

For tensioning and back measuring adjustment, these cycles are executed utilizing two separate pairs of rolls. The hydraulic tensioning pressure is again proportionally controlled. The tension is measured the full width of the blade at the same time, using individual electronic sensors. Again, all programming can be saved and recalled to ensure consistent, and accurate results.

Hanchett Mfg has introduced their linear motion bearing drop head for all model 410 and 414 band saw sharpeners. This replaces the rocker style drop head that has been used for the past 50 or so years.

This new style will provide more positive movement and smoother operation, therefore making for finer finishes on the saw teeth, says the company.

This head style can also be retrofitted to older machines in the field.

Contact Ralph Manting at 800-454-7463 or ralphm@hanchett.com or any of their stocking dealers throughout Canada or the U.S.

Pro Mac Manufacturing

Pro Mac’s diverse customer base includes independent parts and equipment dealers for pulp and paper, forestry, and lumber industries. They supply various products to a wide range of industries from custom design to manufactured components.

The company maintains two adjacent shops in Duncan, B.C.: a fabrication shop and a machine shop covering some 36,000 square feet.

Pro Mac Manufacturing is the largest edger arbor manufacturer in North America, both in the lobe and involute spline design. In addition to arbors, the company is also a major manufacturer of edger saw guides in either steel or aluminum, as well as knurled and chromed rolls. It has supplied these parts to a variety of companies throughout North America and overseas.
Pro Mac delivers quality workmanship and competitive pricing, the company says. In fact, several original equipment manufacturers have chosen Pro Mac arbors and guides to install in their new edgers.

The new website boasts a simple design and has much of the familiar elements members have grown to depend on including news, job board, education and a special page devoted to the 2011 AGM and Convention. The association also has a new hotline: 604-585-9759.